Monday, 19 December 2011

My trip to The X Factor final!

I’ve always been
a ‘yes’ girl, eager to do, see, try, and go to as many things and places as
possible…even when my workload says otherwise. I found myself in this
situation last Sunday when my friend Kizzy sent me a text message:

Me: I’m planning
to watch the final tonight (inside thinking ummmm, yes but I can’t admit it too
pubically, even though I clearly just have)

Kizzy: Do you
want to watch it live?

Me: (inside:……but
she’s going with her cousin, does she have another ticket….I’m so behind on my
work, I have a chandelier to make by tomorrow…most of which I was going to do
in front of the TV yet I replied…) YES!

And the next
thing I knew I had an hour to get glammed up and hot step it to Wembley.
Kizzy’s boyfriend works behind the scenes on the show’s lights, which anyone
who watched it will agree, are pretty spectacular. Her Gary-Barlow-obsessed
cousin had been excited for weeks to be going with Kizzy, who managed to get
free tickets courtesy of the boyf, but sadly was unwell. So there I was in her
place, slipping inside the Arena minutes after arriving, while for miles ahead,
queues of public were freezing their fingers off.

We were given two garishly coloured bands and told to wear one on each wrist.
They didn’t seem to do anything, there were no buttons, levers or cords to
pull. It was most peculiar, then at the stroke of 5.30, everyone’s
bands turned on. At this point people were just milling around, waiting to go
inside, and we started cheering from the sheer shock and surprise of our wrists coming alive and being controlled by someone/something(?) else.

We had no idea
where we’d end up sitting and were ecstatic to discover we were five rows from the front
at the right hand side of the stage, which is where all the action takes place.
While it looks like everything is ‘central’ when you see in on TV, the
action was actually right of centre. Westlife were practically touching distance when
they came on stage. (Not that I would want to touch Westlife but I was seated
next to another guest’s mum who went crazy for them : ) )

Being so close to
the stage made you feel like you were part of the special effects. Every time the
pyrotechnics blasted out you could feel the burn of the flames.

When you’re
sitting at home you assume TV presenters have spent all day learning their lines
but of course (and having done a course in TV presenting myself I know
this…though that’s another story!), it’s all about the autocue; which Dermot was
reading, again, on 'our end' of the stage.

I heard various
accounts after the show was broadcast from people who hated watching it at Wembley,
saying it seemed to be better quality in the TV studio. I even listened
to a chap on the radio rant about how the Arena had no atmosphere and the
singing was lost in such a large space. I can confirm that in the live moment, there was a definite
electric excitement in the air. Especially being able to see the off-camera
antics. For example when you see Dermot chatting away; else
where on stage, the sets are changing and the contestants are composing
themselves. Marcus wore the biggest smile whenever the camera was on him but he
also spent a long time just focusing and not smiling at all.

Then as the first
chord hit, he switched into character….really fascinating to observe.

I don’t know what
it felt like watching it at home, but the advert breaks seemed to take forever…they
felt really long…we didn’t see them. Instead we got views of the judges having
their faces powdered (seriously…does it really take three people to make Kelly
look gorgeous??!). There was also an off camera presenter providing audience
entertainment so we didn’t get bored…though it mainly involved him asking
members of the audience to come on stage and sing….most of those that volunteered
were children and singing kids are really not my cup of tea : (

As ever, Little Mix were terribly styled. Seriously…why is Perrie dressed as a
circus ringmaster…it’s unflattering and looks ridiculous. And I’m not even the kind
of person that judges people on their clothes but we all know that LM are
styled by someone, who probably gets paid loads. I doubt the girls have much
say. Yet each week they looked awful. The semi finals the previous day were the worst. They were dressed head-to-toe in washed out denim...need I say more? I really hope that they change their stylist asap. They need someone who
know’s how to flatter them and turn them into role models. They should be
inspiring trends; not making people go off fashion.

The highlight of
the entire evening and what made getting home and staying up excrutiatingly
late to work, and then spend the next day like a zombie; was the set by Coldplay.
I’m not a Coldplay fan. The hatred started when I saw them perform in Cardiff
at a Student Radio Association conference back in 2000. They were a support act to an indie band who have since disappeared. People barely knew who
they were but I was soooo bored because Chris Martin, the singer, seemed so big headed.
He spent the entire set bigging himself up, it was cringeworthy but I guess it proves
that self-belief can change your life. He thought he was amazing and, he’s now
a billionaire - clearly we could all do with some of that positive attitude. Back to
the songs… I wasn’t really listening to the music but as soon as they began
playing; 20,000 wrist bands turned on and it was like being in a complete
dreamlike, magical world.

The light-up
bands were provided by Coldplay to enhance the live music experience by
increasing audience participation. I wouldn’t say I felt like I was
participating, I just felt like I was ‘experiencing’; and it really was a gig experience
like no other…or perhaps that should be stadium experience like no other?

It
was certainly epic.I watched the songs back and while it looked good, in real life it really was something else: something very special.

Another epic
moment was waiting for the results…

And then before
you knew it, the stage was brimming with ex-contestants…

…and rainbow confetti..

So my completely
unexpected Sunday night which could have ended with me lounging on my sofa
chilling in my PJs while working, actually turned into a night of momentous glamour. Kizzy and
I had so much fun, cheering, dancing and waving our wrists. I feel so lucky to
have been there. It’s certainly going down in my list of ‘wow experiences.’

Speaking of wow, this is what Cannonball should sound like (not the winner's single version):